The Reds finished their last series ever at Shea Stadium (unless there's a miraculous run and the two meet in the playoffs -- and, well, I'm certainly not betting on that). And I'm sure there was nothing but dry eyes in the house because the best way to put it is that Shea is a dump. D-U-M-P. When the best thing you can say about a stadium is that it's easy to get to (the 7 train), you haven't said much.

That got me thinking, I've been to all of the National League stadiums except the new Nationals park and some older stadiums that are no longer in use (Atlanta-Fulton County, Olympic, Astrodome, RFK and Busch) -- and is Shea the worst? Actually no.

The worst was RFK, but Shea is the worst of the current parks. Next year, it will be Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

That also got me thinking, the stadiums are almost lumped together by division.

NL West -- the NL's best

* Dodger Stadium -- a classic. Nothing flashy, but just a great setting for a game. A good crowd and a good time. The view is gorgeous and so are the women.

* Petco Park -- Not only is it aided by being in San Diego, the ark was done well. There are plenty of places within walking distance around the park, and inside is gorgeous. It's one of the best of the new parks.

* Coors Field -- Again, just about perfect. Gorgeous setting, great area, nice place to watch a game.

* Chase Field -- the worst o****reat bunch. It'd maybe be the best of the new parks in the NL Central, but in the West, it's an easy fifth. There's too much going on and makes you claustrophobic with all the signage, you just don't know where to look. But, the basic design is nice and the AC and roof are greatly appreciated in Arizona.

* AT&T Park -- the best. The setting, the city, the views from the park. It's just tough to beat.

NL Central -- The Big 10 of baseball stadiums, t****owerhouses and then mediocrity

* Wrigley Field -- What can be said? As much of a pain in the rear as it is for working media (yeah, I know you don't care, but I do), it's still my favorite place to see a game. It's magical. And really, you don't even have to deal with Cubs fans, since you're not really dealing with real baseball fans, just yuppies wanting to be seen. Wrigleyville is great, too.

* PNC Park -- If it weren't for AT&T Park, this would be the best of the new stadiums. It's not just the great view and postcard good looks from the outside, it's got great sightlines from all the seats, plenty of great vantage points. All around nice.

* Great American Ball Park -- I gotta say Doc nailed it back in the day. Pretty Good American Ball Park. Like Milwaukee, Busch and Minute Miad Park, it gets the job done. I always like the possibility of a ball landing in a water.

* Miller Park -- for a retractable roof, it's fine. Nothing too special, but very nice and works well.

* Minute Maid Park -- a joke inside with the hill and a left field porch shorter than a Ramones song. Like GABP, nothing much in the area. But hey, the roof works.

* Busch Stadium -- someone said it best during the World Series in its first year -- the stadium where they spared every expense. Even thought it's like 30 years or so newer than the other big league park in Missouri, it's still second. One of my biggest things about a park if I'm there as a fan is that I want to be able to see the game from the concourse. That's a big strike against Busch. I also like to take a lap around the stadium during the game when I can -- Busch makes the difficult. It's disjointed and just feels incomplete and thrown together at the last minute. Apparently, whoever designed it figured no matter how crappy the stadium was, the people would show up anyway. And they were right.

NL East -- NL Least

* Shea Stadium -- as noted -- D-U-M-P.

* Dolphin Stadium -- a football stadium with a diamond thrown in. Even if it weren't too big, it'd be too big for the Marlins. Even a decent crowd there would seem like it was empty. Just a disaster.

* Turner Field -- eh. Just eh. It works, I guess, and it's better than Fulton County, but it's still kinda lame.

* Citizen's Bank Park -- another underwhelming park. It's a lot like Great American to me.

* Nationals Park -- I haven't been there yet, but it's got to look like the Taj Mahal compared to RFK, but so would just about any minor league park in America.